A Day Late
by BVR2109
Summary: Songfic: Season 3 AU'ish songfic based on A Day Late by Anberlin. Ends with Charah, and I know how much everyone loves that. OneShot


**A/N: **Hey there. I'm sorry if you're disappointed that this isn't a new chapter for the Intersect Project. I am currently working on it, so it should be up in roughly 24 hours or so. I've been toying with this idea for a while. It's literally the only song in my collection that I think almost perfectly describes Chuck and Sarah's relationship in Season 3. So I took the song, and went AU. This is around the time of Chuck versus the Fake Name. I hope my story makes you feel a little bit better at the travesty that's season 3. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Chuck or Anberlin. I'm okay with not owning Anberlin though, their last few albums weren't too good. Their first three are still amazing!

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><p><strong>A Day Late<strong>

Song: Anberlin – A Day Late

**So let me get this straight  
>You say now you loved me all along<br>What made you hesitate  
>To tell me with words what you really feel<br>I can see it in your eyes you mean all of what you say  
>I remember so long ago, see I felt that same way<br>Now we both have separate lives and lovers (and lovers)  
>Insignificantly enough we both have significant others<strong>

Sarah walked up to Chuck. She felt the trepidation enclose her with every step she took. She had a lot of time to think about the steps she took in her life. And it seemed that every time someone was involved whom she loved, she involuntarily screwed things up. After the Prague incident, she had never been the same. Chuck had crushed her. She firmly believed that he had chosen the job that she had grown to despise over being with her. But the more she thought things through, the more she realized that he hadn't in fact chosen the job over her at all. He had chosen to be with her, without having to live in a world of fear.

Had they run away together, there would've been an instant sanction out on Sarah, and the entire United States government would be looking for them. Chuck had tried to make her realize it, but in her fragile state, she couldn't… no, wouldn't let him explain his reasoning to her. So she ran away. Away from her problems. Away from real life, where everything was so much more terrifying than in the solitude that she'd gravitated to, ever since being offered the opportunity by Langston Graham.

Sarah realized that by shoving him away, she had made a terrible mistake. It took being with Shaw to make her realize that the only one she had ever truly loved, was in fact Chuck. And she had made up her mind. She would confront Chuck, and beg him to take her back. Hannah and Shaw be damned. And if he decided that he didn't want her… well, she would still have safe, reliable Shaw to fall back on.

"Chuck, can I speak to you for a moment."

Chuck's face lit up when he saw her. "Sure Sarah, what's on your mind?"

That was her Chuck. She had crushed him time and again, and he would still always be there for her. She just hoped that he wouldn't have completely written off the notion of them together. She took a deep breath.

"Chuck, what I am about to say may very well change the course of our relationship together. And I want you to let me finish before you respond. Here goes… I love you, Chuck. It took me a long time, and a lot of stupid mistakes to realize it, but there it is. I've never felt anything like this before. From the moment I've met you, you started changing me. And it scared me. It scared me so much, that I kept pushing you away. But the more I pushed you away, the more I realized that I can't live without you. I _won't _live without you. You are everything I've ever needed, and more. Every cover date we went on, was a million times better than any time I've spent with Bryce. I love you, Chuck, and I hope you realize it."

**Only time will tell  
>Time will turn and tell<br>We are who we were when  
>Could've been lovers but at least you're still my day late friend<br>We are who  
>We are who we were when<br>Who knew what we know now  
>Could've been more but at least you're still my day late friend<br>We are who  
>We are who we were when<br>But thoughts they change and times they rearrange I don't know who you are anymore  
>Loves come and go and this I know I'm not who you recall anymore<br>But I must confess you're so much more then I remember  
>Can't help but entertain these thoughts<br>Thoughts of us together**

Chuck couldn't believe what he was hearing. The words he had dreamed of hearing for so long were finally uttered. But at what cost? He was in a committed relationship with Hannah. She was with Shaw. This was insanity. Was he really going to have to break Sarah's heart… twice? Sure, she had broken his heart plenty of times. But her reasoning was always flawless. If she committed to him, they'd be separated. He would rather be put in a bunker with her, than having to spend his life without her. But they both changed. Chuck was actively trying to become a spy, but he was desperately trying to cling to some form of normal life. And so far, only Hannah could provide him that sense of normalcy. Sarah had been destroyed by Chuck after Prague. Sure, he had his reasons, and they were certainly valid. But he'd never gotten a chance to explain them to her.

And yet here she was. Sharing her inner-most feelings. With him. Not with Shaw, or with Casey. Not with Bryce, Cole or any of the other millions of people who tried to claim her for themselves. No, she was sharing with him. He felt honored, and disgusted at the same time. Why did she have to do this to him now? If she could've just spoken up before he committed to Hannah. And she to Shaw. When he had given her his blessing to pursue Shaw, he knew that it wasn't going to lead anywhere. A spy simply didn't mix with another spy. He knew what she was doing, but he wasn't going to call her out on it. She was trying to find a replacement for him.

But Chuck was definitely okay with that. It was, in all fairness, what he was doing with Hannah. He so desperately wanted something real with Sarah, but he knew that it wouldn't happen if they ran away. So he rebuffed her on Prague. God, he wanted her to understand. And it seemed that she had either decided to forgive him for Prague, or she finally found out why he had done what he had. He had to be honest with himself. When he dreamt of his wedding, the only face he could've possibly been imagining when he lifted the veil, was Sarah's. The ember of hope that was left in his heart had been awakened to a full blown roar. And yet…

**So let me get this straight  
>All these years and you were nowhere to be found<br>And now you want me for your own  
>But you're a day late and my love, she's still renowned <strong>

"Sarah. I love you. I've loved you for such an incredible amount of time, that I'm pretty sure it's become a law of nature. I've always held out hope for you to actually say those words to me."

Sarah was beaming. Everything she had ever wanted was about to happen. Finally, for once in her life, something would go right for her. So why was Chuck looking so sullen?

"Sarah, I love you… but I can't be with you."

Sarah's face fell. This couldn't be happening to her. "No, Chuck. Not again. Please, just tell me what's wrong. Tell me, and I'll fix it. Don't take this from me, Chuck. It's taken me so long to come to terms with this. And having you as a friend has been amazing, but I want more… I _need_ more. I need you, Chuck. So please, just… Just tell me."

Sarah's face was distorted into the most depressing face that Chuck had ever seen. He wanted so bad to comfort her. And he finally had an idea on how to do it. She had said it herself. It took her this long to come to terms with her feelings. And he had always harbored those feelings. And they were both trying to fill the gap left by the other by turning to other people. People who in no way stood up to the originals that they were trying so hard to forget.

"Sarah. I'm in a committed relationship, and so are you. I want you more than anything I've ever thought possible. But I can't do it now. I don't cheat on the people that I'm seeing, Sarah. And as special as you are, I won't do that to Hannah. But I promise you, the moment that we stop seeing other people, we'll find each other, and it will all happen. I promise you."

He stood up, and gently kissed her. When he stepped back, he saw the smile blossoming on Sarah's face, and he knew she got the message.

She grabbed her mobile phone, and pressed speed dial 2. Speed dial 1 would forever be Chuck. She grabbed his hand, and waited for the phone to be picked up.

"Daniel… We need to talk."

Chuck's smile was threatening to overtake his face. He went for his own mobile phone, and went for speed dial 4. 1 would forever be Sarah. 2 would be Ellie and Devon. 3 would be Morgan.

"Hannah… It's Chuck. Hey, I really need to talk to you…"

They walked up the stairs, back through the freezer to their new lives. Together.


End file.
